Hi Jeff! It does vary by community... If you played at 120 and up where I dance, the dance would be empty and/or over halfway through. Even at 116-120, older/less fit dancers are getting frustrated, sitting down to catch their breath, and leaving early.
In my experience, 112-114 is the sweet spot. It's not too slow as to be clumsy. It's not too fast for beginners and older/less fit dancers. And for more proficient and creative dancers, it's a pace that allows them to play around a little, while still finishing in time for the next move. 116-118 is okay for a couple dances if they have fewer moves, so the caller needs to tell the band "a little faster is okay". Keith Tuxhorn Springfield IL I call/dance in STL, and central IL On Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 11:59 AM Jeff Kaufman via Contra Callers < contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > For me: > > 116-120: normal, hard to go wrong > 110-122: usually fine, depending a bit on the dance and crowd > 104-126: possible with the right dance and crowd, but on the edge of > undanceable > <104, >126: almost never a good idea > > Younger or more athletic crowds generally do better with another couple > bpm, and vice versa. > > This also varies some by community: some areas historically have had > faster or slower music and those communities have many people who've > adapted their dancing to the typical music. > > As a musician, if I'm playing too fast or slow for the dancers I'm happy > to be given real-time correction! A caller watching the whole hall has a > better sense of how well the tempo is going over than a group of musicians > who are able to give the hall less of their attention. > > Jeff > > > On Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 12:35 PM Roberta Kogut via Contra Callers < > contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> Just wondering what tempos your bands are playing for contra dancers. >> >> Thank you! >> >> Roberta Kogut >> Western North Carolina >> >> Get TypeApp for Android >> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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